Sustainable Running Shoes

I remember some kind of program a long time ago where you could donate your spent running shoes to a company that shipped them off to third world countries and gave them to people who, as it turned out, didn't even need them because they could run barefoot faster than you could run with the shoes.

How about you start with a shoe that is biomechanically sound, lightweight, have excellent energy return, and have adaptable stability and cushioning.

Maybe after you master that, you can move on to sustainable materials.

has*

2-4 shoes in what amount of time? Please specify.

I would check out

1. End Footwear (rip)

2. soles for soles

3.

http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/

4. biomogo

Wouldn't designing a shoe that lasts 2-4 times longer than current models be a logical way to go if you're looking to cut down on trash? People wouldn't have to buy as many of them. But you'd need to keep the price comparable to what other models cost if you want people to buy them.

HRE wrote:

Wouldn't designing a shoe that lasts 2-4 times longer than current models be a logical way to go if you're looking to cut down on trash? People wouldn't have to buy as many of them. But you'd need to keep the price comparable to what other models cost if you want people to buy them.

This was the general consensus about five years ago. However waste reduction is another way. One example is flyknit i.e. removal of stitching and fabric pieces. Footwear companies aren't super interested in making more durable products. It would would to a reduction in sales.

It depends on how you define sustainable. I think a more important shift would be toward more us manufacturing. It creates jobs and when the plant is in your town you are more aware of what is spewing out of it.

I actually do know that footwear manufacturers aren't interested in making more durable products because they'd make fewer sales and they certainly are not different from most other manufacturers.

However, manufacturing requires energy use, transport of materials and other things that have detrimental consequences for the environment. Even shoes that are easily recyclable will invoke those consequences. A shoe that lasts 2-4 times as long will reduce the amount of energy used in the manufacture of shoes because fewer shoes will be manufactured.

Ideally, you'd make a shoe of "sustainable" materials that also lasts 2-4 times as long as current models, but I'd bet that shoes like the old Tiger/Nike Cortez, which were designed to last 3,000 miles, would have less environmental impact than a high tech "sustainable" shoe that's going to need replacing after 500 miles or so.

And do we really, really, believe those shoes are going to be made in the US?

What shoes/type of shoes/shoe designs do you think offer all of those features? Whats your favorite shoe company?

I was always told that a running shoe was good for 300-400 miles. So I guess whenever it really takes to hit the mileage. From my expirence you typically have one shoe for the season, then one for the off season, one again, and then one for the second off season. I know it varies.

Nike's FlyKnit Trainer/Racer are a good place to start with new sustainable footwear. Although they might not last 1,000 miles, the reduction in material uses is a huge benefit. By knitting the upper, Nike is able to reduce the typical layering and cutting of materials most companies use.

http://one50south.blogspot.com/

Vivobarefoot beat you to it.

Nike has done some hobby projects; watch the documentary Waste = Food by the cradle to cradle guy. It has a section on Nike. You can find it on vimeo.

Brooks had the green silence shoe

Sustainable Running shoes wrote:

I was always told that a running shoe was good for 300-400 miles. So I guess whenever it really takes to hit the mileage. From my expirence you typically have one shoe for the season, then one for the off season, one again, and then one for the second off season. I know it varies.

I wore my Kinvaras for a thousand miles and I plan on doing the same with the nike frees that I have now.